Artistfacts for Train

Columbia Records rejected them in 1996, but signed them in 1998 after they released their first album on their own.

Hotchkiss and Monahan are both married to schoolteachers. Their wives introduced them, and they formed the band.

Monahan was in a cover band in Erie, Pennsylvania before moving to San Fransisco and forming the band. He specialized in Led Zeppelin covers.

They were not signed to a label when they recorded their first album. They financed it themselves for $25,000.

Hotchkiss, Stafford, and Colin were all originally bandmates in a group called the Apostles.

After they gained a following, they signed to Aware Records, the same label that gave stardom to Better Than Ezra and Matchbox Twenty.

Monahan cites an Aerosmith show he saw at 14 as his influence as a musician. At that show, he caught a drumstick in the chest. Guitarist Robbie Robertson from The Band has also been cited as a major influence.

Monahan thinks that The Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are the best movies ever.